Strange form of lightning: Bead lightning in Northampton

A form of lightning, known as bead lightning, chain lightning or even pearl lightning, was recently captured in Northampton.

This strange-looking lightning was spotted in Northampton, amidst the line of thunderstorms that moved through on Sunday October 23rd.

Bead lightning is an aspect of a normal lightning flash, but appears to break up into luminous fragments. It describes a stage of the discharge, rather than an actual type of lightning.

The discharge channel exhibits a ‘bead pattern’ in the decaying stage of the discharge, with different channel sections cooling at different rates.

It is most commonly observed as cloud-to-ground lightning, though there are a few different forms of lightning:

Have you ever spotted bead lightning before, or caught another cool shot of lightning? Send in your shots (captured from a safe distance!) right here.